From September 1st 2014, you can get a Myanmar tourist visa on arrival by applying online through the official government visa website As of September 1st 2014, you can go to evisa.moip.gov.mm, the official Myanmar government visa website, and apply for a Myanmar tourist visa online. This will then provide you with an approval letter […]

Kevin Revolinski gives the lowdown on things to do in Mandalay, Myanmar’s famous northern city which is the gateway to the surrounding countryside Mandalay is Myanmar’s second largest city and in terms of commerce, it’s most important. The population surpasses one million, and though it is a center of Burmese culture, immigrants from Yunnan Province […]

Inle Lake is a huge area, and the fact you need to get a boat pretty much everywhere means some planning will make for a much better experience. Bob James makes some suggestions of things to see and do at Inle Lake Children growing up on Myanmar’s Inle Lake first learn to walk, then to […]

One of Asia’s most beautiful areas, Myanmar’s Inle Lake is quickly gaining in popularity with tourists. Bob James explains how to plan your visit to Inle Lake and where to stay. Tucked in between the dusty plains of Bagan and the mountains of Shan State lies Myanmar’s watery oasis of Inle Lake. Unique in weather, […]

Beyond Mandalay’s modern city hubbub lie three of Myanmar’s ancient capitals – Amarapura, Sagaing and Inwa – which can be visited in a day and includes the must-see U Bein Bridge. Bob James goes exploring. Mandalay is an established tourist stop but Myanmar’s second-largest city is, for the most part, a soulless collection of wide, […]

A self-sufficient village deep in Myanmar’s Shan State, Hsipaw offers a taste of real Burmese village life and some beautiful trekking routes in the surrounding countryside, as Bob James explains In a country that hosted only about 300,000 western tourists in 2011, there’s really no such thing as the “beaten path” for tourists. But if […]

One of Burma’s most stunning man-made marvels built by the colonial British, Gokteik Viaduct is a spectacular railway bridge over 100 metres above the ground and nearly 700 metres long. Bob James takes the plunge. There are definitely faster ways to travel between Mandalay and Hsipaw than by train. You’ll spend an entire day of […]

As Myanmar opens up to the rest of the world, Bob James explains why now is the time to go before mass tourism fully takes hold of this fascinating and diverse country Ask anyone lucky enough to have visited the “new” Myanmar and you’ll be bombarded with a variety of superlatives, but also one singular […]

Kevin Revolinski explores the many facets of Burma’s Irrawaddy river in style from the Orient Express’ Road To Mandalay cruiseship, starting at the spectacular ancient temples of Bagan and heading to historic Mandalay. Myanmar might be the up-and-coming star of Southeast Asia and tourist numbers are showing sharp increases over the last couple years. Impressive […]

One of the best hotels in Burma’s former capital Yangon, the Governor’s Residence provides a quiet oasis of restored colonial charm from which to explore the city, says Kevin Revolinski Governor’s Residence is a slice of luxury life right in the middle of Yangon. Governor’s Residence was exactly that, the former Yangon home of a […]

Nic Dunlop, author of The Lost Executioner, returns with a documentary from modern-day Burma about a soldier who turned against the brutal dictatorship which has governed the country for the last five decades. A few years ago I wrote a glowing review of Nic Dunlop’s The Lost Executioner, a truly remarkable book about Khmer Rouge-era […]

The ancient Burmese city of Bagan has literally thousands of ancient temples scattered across a vast plain – here are five of my favourites Schwezigon Paya One of the most sacred temples at Bagan, Schwezigon Paya is reputed to contain relics of the Buddha within its immense bell-shaped golden stupa. Schwezigon is built on similar […]

Bagan is the only capital of the three ancient kingdoms to have never been fully abandoned, despite being attacked and conquered by the Mongols and suffering a devastating earthquake [Previously: Part 1: Sukhothai | Part 2: Angkor] Bagan is the only capital of the three ancient kingdoms to have never been wholly abandoned, remaining an […]

If you need help organising domestic flight tickets and hotel bookings within Myanmar, I can recommend Radiant Tours – they did a great job of helping me when I visited Burma A friend recently asked me if I had any tips for reliable travel agents in Myanmar (formerly Burma), so I thought it would be […]

Myanmar’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi turns 64 today – and is still in prison. Her recently republished book “The Voice Of Hope” provides a superb recap of who Aung San Suu Kyi is and why she has sacrificed her family and freedom in the hope of a free Burma. The Voice […]

I’m heading off tomorrow on a scuba diving liveaboard trip to Burma — if you’re interested in finding out more, you can read about it on my dive blog Divehappy.com. UPDATE – there’s now a 3 part trip report about my Burma dive trip – follow the link for part 1. I’ve scheduled an interview […]

Pascal Khoo Thwe’s autobiography is a classic “truth is stranger than fiction” tale, describing how a dirt poor Burmese mountain boy improbably fell in love with the writings of James Joyce and eventually found himself studying at Cambridge University in England Pascal Khoo Thwe ran free as a child, ran scared as an adult, and […]

The second of Travelhappy’s Thailand Writer series. This week, Phil Thornton, author of Restless Souls, about the Karen of Burma and the uneasy border between Burma and Thailand Name: Phil Thornton Age: 47 Nationality: Australian Irish, born Ireland moved to England at 10 and to Australia at 21. Time in Thailand: Seven years. What brought […]

Every Friday, a new photo of amazing Asian people and places here on Travelhappy. This week: Burma’s holiest shrine, the Shwedagon Pagoda Thousands dead, hundreds of thousands homeless and the country’s already poor infrastructure smashed by Cyclone Nargis – this has been the latest tragedy to befall Burma. The most devastating natural disaster to hit […]

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